


aging

by WattStalf



Series: A Not-So-Blue Planet [7]
Category: Watchmen - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Gen, Kink Meme, but not kinky, part of a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-29 02:35:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6355453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hollis agrees to help Nelson form the Crimebusters, but he doesn't approve of his friend's decision to stay in costume.</p>
            </blockquote>





	aging

**Author's Note:**

> Another part of my dead Jon series. Someone on the meme suggested that Hollis would not be so disillusioned with crime fighting, and he might help with the Crimebusters, so that's what I did here.

Hollis had been happy to retire, especially knowing that there was someone like Dan to take over for him, but he always kept in touch with anyone from the old group. It had been fun while it lasted, and he had fond memories, and maybe if he hadn't had to age, he might have kept going a little longer. But it had been time for him to retire, even if some of his old companions didn't feel the same way.

Nelson was still active, and they still spoke regularly, and Hollis never mentioned that he thought it somewhat ridiculous that he was still trying to keep it up. And he didn't even say how ridiculous he thought Nelson's suggestion was when he called one afternoon, though he did think the idea was good, even if he thought the idea of Nelson taking charge of such a thing was a bit too much.

Nelson wanted to start a new group, like the Minutemen had been. Since Dan had taken to the streets as Nite Owl, he had begun partnering with a new vigilante called Rorschach, and before that both Hollis and Nelson had met Ozymandias. Sally Jupiter's daughter had finally taken on the Silk Spectre identity, and with Nelson still active, he thought they had enough people to form a new group.

It wasn't a bad idea, to bring them all together like that, but Nelson was getting older and he'd be so out of place amongst those children. Still, he seemed to think that he would fit right in and that he was fit to lead them, though he hoped that Hollis would help him out in this.

“You don't have to get back in costume,” he said. “But you know just about as much about this as I do, and it would be nice to have someone with my level of experience helping from the inside.”

Hollis agreed to join in the effort, because he thought it would be fun to be a part of things without really being a part of things, but still he secretly wished that Nelly would realize that he couldn't keep this up forever. Whatever the case, he extended an invitation to the first meeting of what Nelly wanted to call the Crimebusters (and it was very hard not to laugh at the name) to Dan, who passed it along to Rorschach. A call was made to Sally and Nelson tracked down Ozymandias to tell him about it as well.

The first meeting was, overall, a success. Everyone seemed optimistic, and if some of them shared the opinion that Nelly looked a little silly, Hollis got enough compliments for how he helped conduct the meeting and was told enough times that it was good to have him there, that he was sure things would turn out just fine. It was odd to see Laurie, all grown up and in a costume of her own when he had always only seen her as Sally's little girl.

Even still, that image was there. Her costume was different, but it was the same yellow and black, and she was just as beautiful as her mother, though the resemblance between them was minimum, with just their eyes and a few facial features in common. He supposed Laurie had taken after Larry more, but he couldn't really see what she had in common with him either.

But he could see the way she looked at Ozymandias, and though Hollis hadn't even come close to raising her, not even after the divorce, he felt just a little bit protective of her and wondered, should she try to pursue this, if he would be the best choice for her. The young man was very bright and strong and talented, so perhaps he would be, but when Hollis caught Dan staring, he found that he had a bias as far as who Laurie should date was concerned.

When the meeting began to wind down, he saw Laurie and Ozymandias talking, while Dan was trying to gauge Rorschach's reaction to their new group. Hollis watched the kids, feeling proud and hopeful and even a little bit excited. Nelly came to stand beside him, looking absolutely overjoyed.

“I didn't know it would go over this well!” he said, grinning. “I thought it might take more time to build up trust, but I think everyone is pretty much all in.”

“Well, that's good,” replied Hollis. “I think this will be a good thing for everyone.”

“Thank you for helping me. I know I owe at least half my success to you.”

“Oh, I wouldn't say that,” he said, shaking his head and chuckling.  
“Well, I would,” Nelly replied. “People really respect you, and even if you aren't in costume anymore, you make a great addition.”

Hollis would have continued his modest act and continued brushing of Nelson's compliments, but Sally strolled in then, throwing her arms around the two of them and saying that it was high time they all got caught up. And, just like always, Hollis found that Sally had a way of distracting him from anything.

~X~

Sally kept in close contact after that, always eager to hear what her daughter was up to and always eager to offer her own input. In particular, she wanted to know about Laurie's budding friendship with Ozymandias and how they could help speed that along.

“The fact is, she has a huge crush on him,” she said. “She won't admit it to me, but it's obvious, and I certainly approve. If anyone would make a cute couple, it'd be them, but I'm afraid she's not so good at dating.”

It was painfully obvious that she had her own reasons for supporting the potential couple, but Hollis played dumb. “She isn't?”

“Of course not, silly! She's been too focused on training to worry about boys before, so I'm sure she's terribly clueless.” She gave him that smile that always made his chest ache and laid a hand on his arm. “I was wondering if you and Nelly could help her out a little bit. Maybe...pair them up more often?”

He remembered Dan and how he always caught the young man staring, and he hesitated to answer her. It was all too familiar, Nite Owl mooning over Silk Spectre but too afraid to do anything about it until it was too late. He didn't want Dan to make the same mistakes he had, but he didn't want to say no to Sally and he wanted to make Laurie happy as well. In the end, he couldn't _make_ Dan talk to Laurie and pairing her with Ozymandias for patrols wouldn't stop him from making his own move.

“Alright,” he said at last. “I'll talk to Nelly about it and see what we can do.”

“Thank you so much, Hollis,” she replied with a grin. “I knew I could count on you.”

~X~

He did try to advise Dan after that, suggesting that he not let his chance pass him by, but Dan seemed convinced that he didn't have that chance and there wasn't much else Hollis could do for him.

“Kids, huh?” asked Nelson one day, after a meeting. “Seems like things aren't much different from when we were young.”

“But we aren't young,” Hollis said, feeling strangely irritated. He knew that his irritation wasn't directed at Nelly, but still, he found himself just a little bit less tolerant of the other man's games. “It's just that only one of us realizes that.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, already sounding hurt. Nelly always had been too sensitive for his own good.

“We're both too damn old to keep playing dress up and you know it,” said Hollis. “I figured it out, so I don't know why you keep acting like you're still twenty-five.”

“It's not like that,” he cried. “It isn't something you get to old for, and...and the costume could be for anyone! But I'm trying to do something good with my life and that has nothing to do with my age.”

“I'm doing plenty from the sidelines, without making a fool of myself,” Hollis argued, not knowing why he was getting so fired up. “You could be doing the same thing and still do the same amount of good.”

Now Nelly looked close to tears, but instead of giving into them, he steeled himself and said, “Just because I'm not content to sit back and let everyone else do all the work doesn't give you the right to criticize me.” He turned and stormed out of the room, not turning around even when Hollis tried to stop him.

“Hey, I didn't mean...” It was too late, though, and Nelson was gone. Hollis sighed, knowing he had gone a bit too far. It had been out of line for him to say that, even if it was how he felt.

~X~

Dan grew more distant over time, and Hollis didn't know what was going on with the young man. He preferred more and more often to patrol by himself, and his former partner was more often sent out with Nelson. If it had anything to do with Laurie, he wouldn't be surprised; she and Ozymandias had made their relationship official. Dan likely just needed some time to himself.

Otherwise, the team was still running smoothly, doing better than the Minutemen ever had. Rorschach was the only one with a particularly abrasive personality, but he kept mostly to himself and didn't cause trouble, while Laurie and Ozymandias had become a perfect team. Dan and Nelly could get along with anybody, even with Dan growing distant and Nelly still hurt from his argument with Hollis.

The argument went unmentioned between them and they tried to carry on like it hadn't happened, but things were tense and they didn't talk as much as usual. Until one night, when Nelly staggered in from patrol, exhausted and bleeding. He was hurt pretty badly and Hollis ran to him to try and help him.

“It's fine, I can stand on my own,” he said. “I walked back here, didn't I?”

“Do you need to go to a hospital?” Hollis asked.

“No, I'm fine. I just need to sleep it off,” Nelly replied. “I just ran into a bigger group than I expected, it wasn't as easy to pick them off by myself.” Hollis had had Rorschach go with Dan that night, hoping he could help bring Dan back to the group a little bit.

“Damn it, Nelson, this is exactly what I was talking about,” he said with a groan. “You don't need to be putting yourself in danger like this.”

“But I have to,” replied Nelly. “You know I have to. If I could have stopped at any time, maybe I would have. Maybe when the Minutemen disbanded, I would have taken the hint, or maybe I would have retired with you, but I can't just stop doing this. I'm going to do as much good as I can in my life, and this is the way I'm going to do it. I don't know why it has to be this way, it just does.”

“I just don't like to see you hurt,” he said, sighing. “I'm sorry about the things I said before, I just worry about you.”

The other man laughed lightly and said, “You don't need to worry about me, Hollis. You know I can handle a little pain.” An awkward silence followed, both of them reminded of something long over. “Anyway...I'm not going to stop, and I don't want our friendship to be compromised. Even if you don't understand why I won't stop, I'd like it if you'd accept it.”

Hollis nodded. “Alright. Even if I think you're damn near crazy for this, I'm still with you.”

“And I'm sorry for insulting you before. You do a lot of work to help us and your strategies have been very useful. I know I couldn't do this without you, and I didn't mean a word of what I meant before.”

The two had mended their fences, and though Hollis still wasn't sure if he approved of Nelly's decisions, he wouldn't question them anymore. He felt a little bit sorry for him and whatever drove him to think that this was the only way he could do good, but he also admired him for never giving up and sticking to his convictions like that. Nelson was a good men and one of the best friends anyone could ask for, and if it weren't for him, Hollis wasn't sure if he'd be able to see just how worth it all of this was.

 


End file.
